Friday, November 12, 2010

Legend Factory V3.0 @ Crash Mansion (11/11/10)

So I get a lot of opportunities to go to really cool shows and events, and I thought I would share some of my cool moments with people who enjoy such things: great shows and great events. Here is the first of hopefully many:

Crash Mansion was host to the Legend Factory V3.0 which really is for showcasing new up and coming as well as underground artists and groups to the general public. I've been to quite a few shows at Crash Mansion, so I know this is a great place to see live music, and tonight's line-up didn't disappoint. After about an hour delay Avana Carbonell was the opening act, an artist from New Jersey who has a sound sort of like "Teena Marie, Donna Summer, and Tina Turner." I like all three of those particular artists, but I can't say I was a fan of her sound. It seemed a bit old school but, not necessarily in a good way. She has a good voice but I feel like she would do better with different music...possibly.

For a complete difference in vibe Nikolas Metaxas from Greece was on stage next, and man was he amazing. He has an amazing voice and I like his sound, it's kind of a soulful pop/rock, like John Mayer, but Metaxas can actually sing! It's difficult to sound as good as he did live, but apparently not for Mr. Metaxas, who moved to the USA after a good amount of success in Greece and in other parts of Europe. He keeps this up and that success can only increase, and snowball.

I will take this opportunity to say that I didn't get to see everyone in their entirety. I missed Rasheeda Wallace completely, one of the acts I really wanted to see after hearing good things (I was next door with my boy Aaron eating Chinese food!). I also didn't get to see L.A in her entirety, but what I did see was a female MC with legitimate rhyming skills. Not some gimmicky bimbo flow like certain popular female rappers (Nikki Minaj comes to mind, obviously) but someone with real lyrics. She even took time out of her energetic set to do a little spoken word. She was also the first artist to not use the stage at all, and just perform from the floor, right in front of onlooking music lovers. I enjoyed her as well.

I feel as though, the act right after L.A, an R&B group by the name of Beyond This Point, was possibly the highlight for me of the night. Everyone who performed didn't do more than 4 songs (I feel like they really only did 3 a piece) but BTP made the most of their three tracks. They all had a great sound and a great feel to them, being R&B with a live band (3 vocalists, 1 keys, 1 bass, 1 electric guitar, 1 drummer). Their performance was fun but obviously well rehearsed, even their headbanging was in sync. The 3 vocalists would sing in 3 part harmony too, and as a child of the choir and growing up within a musical family, I've always been a fan of harmony. These guys are dedicated too. Right after their performance they were jumping into a van and driving alllllll the way down to Florida for the Miami Music Festival, where they're scheduled to perform tomorrow night! Unbelievable, or amazing really...just as amazing as their performance.

Rapper Live Wire was the next act I saw after BTP, and he was exactly like his name sake, a live wire! He was all over the place: on the stage, off the stage, on a table, sitting on a girl's lap, on the floor, rolling around, on a bench....it was a lesson in 'how to utilize the performance space.' He was backed up by Brooklyn singer and my friend Cocoa Sarai, one of the great young voices that you want to hear more of once you hear her sing once. Live Wire's performance was also stellar.

Rico Davis from NJ was also a ball of energy. His performance was probably the most impressive, considering the fact that he had backup dancers with him, and he was singing AND dancing at the same time. With a mic in his hand no less, not even a headset. Quite impressive indeed. He had a couple people accompanying him too (Playboy Swag stands out, but with a name like that it's hard not to) and he kept the partying vibe going for his set.

I felt kind of sorry for the last singer, Tali Ratzon. By the time she came out to do her thing, there wasn't a lot of people left in the place. I of course stuck around because I'm a music fan, and really I wanted to atleast be respectful and hear her out. And I'm glad I did. Her music doesn't really fall into a category per se, it's a combo of latin, reggae, and pop and all mashes up into something that just sounds nice. It was nice to see so many performers with a good backing band as well, and Tali's was no exception. It was all in all a great night.